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June 18, 2017

It's my fault. Every year I answer a list of preseason questions about the Red Sox. This year I was asked if there was an unheralded player that people should keep an eye on this season. I answered that Tyler Thornburg was going to be a lights out set up guy that would give us a very solid bullpen.
Now, our bullpen HAS vastly exceeded expectations so far, but Thornburg has not been a part of it, nor will he be for the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that my preseason forecast has cursed a player that season. In fact, it seems that whatever player(s) I highlight in my posts end up under performing that season.

In 2012, when asked about what prospect could make an impact I picked Jose Iglesias, saying that "If Boston is scoring lots of runs, but infield defense becomes a problem, he could be called up early to solidify the shortstop position".
Well, he got called up in late August and batted all of .118. As far as being a defensive upgrade, I'll admit that his defense did help the Red Sox win the World Series. But that wasn't until in 2013, when he was making errors for the Tigers against us in the ALCS.